It's a beautiful image-a wild horse standing on a hill top, head up, luxuriant mane blowing in the wind. Unfortunately, this romanticized, cinematic portrayal of the beauty, vigor, health and soundness of horses in their natural environment isn't necessarily always the case. They can and do get sick and go lame. They have problems with worms, illness and malnutrition just like any animal.
These glorified images of wild horses have caused domestication to be blamed for many, if not all, problems related to lameness and health, with the proposed solution being "natural" care.
While there's certainly some truth to this on many fronts, the fact is there's no way to duplicate free-range living conditions even if we wanted to, and some of the suggestions being put forth as better, more-natural approaches to horse care are flat-out incorrect and harmful to the horse.
Some examples of myths and misconceptions include:
Horses can be kept outside 24/7 with no blanketing even in severe winter weather. They'll do fine. Sure, if "do fine" means little more than survive. Very hardy breeds, true to their free-roaming ancestors, who grow a very dense coat and require little along the lines of food may do OK, but most of the modern breeds bear little resemblance to wild horses and require blankets and/or shelter in the winter months or they will lose a considerable amount of weight trying to keep themselves warm, and severely stress their immune systems in the process.
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The very old and very young horses often have decreased ability to regulate their body temperature. Horses with a history of chronic laminitis can have sufficiently compromised circulation to their feet. Exposure to cold causes too much shunting of blood and extreme foot pain that can progress to even more damage.
Horses should not be dewormed because parasites are a natural part of the horse's environment and may even be beneficial. Death and disease are "natural," too. That doesn't mean they're good. While it's true that unnecessary deworming should be avoided, there most definitely are times when horses need to be dewormed.
Horses in the wild seek out and medicate themselves with herbs. If animals, like people in primitive cultures, could learn that certain plants have certain effects or uses, there's no proof anywhere to support the idea.
An integral part of the human heritage of medicinal herb use is the ability to pass down the information from generation to generation. Experimentation led to certain observations/opinions that would be passed on, and later users would either confirm the effect or discard it. Even the most radical believers haven't suggested that people can instinctively know what plants or herbs they need to help them. How could a horse?
Herbs/plants should be used instead of drugs because they are safe and natural. Any herb/plant that is actually effective in treating something is itself, by definition, a drug. Safety is by no means assured because it's a plant.
Mineral and vitamin overloads can't happen because the horse's body will keep what it needs and get rid of the rest. The horse's body can only handle so much excess before overload occurs. While some minerals and vitamins have a wider margin of safety than others, anything in excess can be harmful.
